The Man Next Door

Chapter Fourteen

Joel Miller was not the type of man to be so vulnerable.

He was very rarely seen wearing a smile, and even less often shedding a tear. So when he stood in front of you clutching the neck of his beer, you were absolutely certain you'd never seen him so broken before.

All of the lights in his house were off, the only light coming from the occasional flash of lightning. The rain splattered off the concrete, soaking your shoes, but all you cared about was Joel.

"Can I come in?"

He pulled the door open slightly, and you rushed in, sliding your sneakers off and leaving them by the door. Water dripped from your face and your hair as you watched Joel silently move to the kitchen.

"Joel.." You started, but he said nothing as he downed the bottle.

He slammed the beer on the counter making you jump. The tension in the room was thick. It was almost like you could feel the fight between Sara and Joel, as if you were there when it happened.

"Joel, talk to me." It came out as a plea, desperate for him to look at you, to stop drinking for one second and just talk to you. But of course Joel didn't listen-he never listened.

You positioned yourself in front of him and placed your hand on his chest. "Joel."

You finally caught his eyes. Even in the dark you could tell they were sad.

"You didn't have 't come. 'M fine."

Your clothes were clinging to your skin and goosebumps prickled your entire body, but nothing was more important in that moment.

"You're obviously not fine Joel. You need to get in the shower. You stink like beer."

He grumbled something under his breath along the lines of "I smell fine" as you grabbed his arm and pulled him off to his bedroom.

Usually, pulling Joel into his bedroom and taking his clothes off would end in both of you naked and breathless. But tonight, you shut his bedroom door and told him to turn on the shower. He looked at you with a hint of a smirk, but you pointed to the bathroom door. "Go, Joel."

He grumbled the whole way to the bathroom, leaving you to pick out a fresh pair of clothes for him. Been in his room before, but you'd never really gone through his stuff, so you weren't sure where to start. You pulled open the heavy top drawer of his dresser, revealing a pile of tshirts and some flannels, mixed in with a few hoodies. You made a mental note to help him organize it later.

After a bit of digging, you found a pair of boxers and some plaid pajama pants, neatly folding them before joining Joel in the bathroom.

He'd turned the hot water on high, quickly fogging up the mirrors. You turned the cold water up, testing the temperature before you made Joel get in.

He'd sat himself on the lid of the toilet, watching your every move. You pointed to him, then the shower. "Strip."

He might have been drunk, but you did not have to tell him to get naked more than once.

He struggled with his jeans for a bit, holding onto your arm for balance as he kicked them off, but his shirt came off easily. Once he was down to his boxers, he eyed you cautiously, as if asking for permission to take them off. You rolled your eyes and waved your hand at him.

"I have seen your dick multiple times Joel, it's fine."

He said nothing as he slid them off, and you tried your absolute best not to look. There was a time and a place, and this was not it.

He stepped into the shower, and you grabbed the shower head, rinsing his body off. You stood on the ledge of the bathtub, lathering his head with shampoo and doing your best to keep it from his eyes.

You worked slowly, gently working your way down his body with a wet rag. The water soaked his muscles, dripping all the way down the front of his body, and yet you still hadn't taken a glance or even touched him there.

You took your time washing him, even though he protested the whole time.

After ten minutes of trying to convince you that he could do it himself, he turned away and propped his hand on the wall.

"Why're you helpin' me?"

"Because".. you stopped yourself. Your heart soared. His back was facing you, so he didn't see when your face turned red. It was on the tip of your tongue, and you almost said it-but you stopped yourself tearing your eyes away.

"I care about you Joel."

He faced you again, this time pulling you into the shower, soaking you all over again. You opened your mouth to exclaim, but he pressed a kiss into your lips.

"'S fine. You were already wet anyway."

You heart thudded in your chest. You were so close to him now, gripping onto his arm, pretending like you didn't feel his dick pressing into your leg.

It would be so easy to sink down to your knees and let him shove his dick into your mouth, but even though you were fully clothed and he was completely naked, the moment felt more intimate than anything.

You kissed him again, wrapping your hand around his neck. The urgency in his kiss made the pull between your legs even stronger, but you did your best to ignore it.

Once you finally pulled away, you peeled your clothes off, dropping them on the floor. Joel eyed you suspiciously. "Don't get too excited, I'm just taking them off because they're wet, I'm getting out of the shower.

-

An hour later, you and Joel were curled up in his bed, both of you wearing his clothes. He laid in between your legs as you massaged his head.

"Joel, you know Sara isn't leaving you right?"

He nodded his head. "Mm. I know."

"Why'd you get so upset then?"

There was a long pause. You'd been playing with his hair for so long, he was drifting in and out of sleep. You had to nudge him to get an answer.

"I only really have her. Can't lose her."

Your heart pulled. The thought of Joel thinking that he'd be alone just because Sara wasn't around made your chest hurt.

"You won't lose her Joel." You stopped playing with his hair, sure that he was almost fully asleep. "Plus, you've got me."

Just before he finally drifted off to sleep, he nodded. "I know baby, I know."

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                              Author's Note

I am so sorry that this update took almost a month😬 I'm in the process of buying a house/moving so I've been very busy lately

Also I know this chapter is definitely not the best by any means but I will be uploading on a more regular schedule!

Lastly!! We're almost at 10k reads r u joking!?! I love you all so much thank you 🥹❤️❤️